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There are new details in an ITEAM Troubleshooter investigation into thousands of dollars missing for homeowners with North Carolina beach rentals.

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- There are new details in an ITEAM Troubleshooter investigation into thousands of dollars missing for homeowners with North Carolina beach rentals.

These homeowners say they still don't have their money and now the owner of the property management company, John Kozak declared bankruptcy. Kozak, who lives in Holly Springs, is the owner of Stellar Beach Realty and Rentals on Ocean Isle. He has been at the center of an ABC11 Troubleshooter investigation in November.

ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson showed how more than a dozen homeowners said they're owed thousands from Stellar for rentals at their beach property, but they say Stellar never paid. Danielle Boukedes is one of those homeowners, "For the renters that actually stayed in my house in August and September we are owed about $31,000."

Monday, Kozak answered questions during a creditor hearing for his bankruptcy. Boukedes was there for the hearing.

"It was frustrating, we are just trying to get to the bottom of where's the money," Bruce and Kim Williams said the same thing as they say they are also owed thousands for rentals at their beach home. "We are very frustrated with how it went today. When someone owes you a lot of money, and especially when you're making a payment on a house and such, that's where it gets frustrating for us as owners."

During the hearing, Kozak was questioned on his financials as he owns several properties and businesses besides Stellar Beach Realty and Rentals. He was also questioned on Stellar Beach Realty and Rentals, and what happened to the homeowner's rental money from the prime summer bookings. Kozak answered, "That has yet to be determined. I don't have a clear answer where every dollar went but it went back into business expenses is all I can say at this point in time."

During the hearing, Kozak also apologized saying, "I'm willing to do something, so I'm not trying to run away from whatever debts, that's not what I'm doing. I had to do this because it's a process."

After the hearing, Wilson tried to hear from Kozak. He didn't comment; he just ran from our camera. As for the property owners who trusted Kozak's company to manage their property, they're hoping the bankruptcy hearing will eventually provide some relief for them. Bruce Williams adds, "Any money back would be wonderful, and we don't know what that looks like right now."

There were no decisions made during Monday's hearing. ABC11 will continue to follow this case to see if these homeowners will see any money they say they are owed.

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The global company says it will eventually employ 700 at its Wake County factories.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

As it ramps up operations at a new facility in Holly Springs, a global biotechnology company is beginning work on a billion-dollar expansion.

Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) has completed construction of a $550 million drug manufacturing facility in the Wake County town. Meanwhile, the company on Friday kicked off construction on a second manufacturing facility expected to create 370 jobs in the years ahead.

Amgen's first facility in Holly Springs is entering a phase of commissioning and qualification to ensure all systems and equipment are operating properly. The facility will become operational and begin manufacturing drug product later this year, according to the California-based company.

Amgen, a more than $30 billion company, is investing heavily in the Triangle region as it works to meet growing demand for its products. The company in 2021 revealed its initial plans to build a factory here. Late last year, it said it would invest another $1 billion and build a second facility.

"It's not so much a question of if you're going to expand, but when you might expand," said Paul Lewus, vice president and site operations lead of Amgen's facilities in North Carolina. . "We're always thinking about what are the expansion options at our sites."

"We certainly look at things around what's the business environment? What does the workforce look like, both current and future? And then, what is the overall biotechnology ecosystem?," he siad.

Amgen expects to employ more than 700 workers here by 2032. Today, the company has about 250 full-time staff in Holly Springs with more than 70 percent being from the local area, Lewus said.

"One of the things we found is that we've been able to hire staff at entry level all the way up through significant amounts of experience," Lewus said.

That's despite potential competition from other large drug manufacturing projects coming online in the next few years, like Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, which is investing more than $3 billion in manufacturing facilities in Holly Springs.

Amgen is partnering with Wake Technical Community College on an apprenticeship program that includes 12 people who have completed a biotechnology certificate program at a community college in the state. These apprentices will go through additional coursework and then receive on-the-job training at Amgen over the next year. The company expects to grow the program both in size and scope.

"The thought process there is, we need that group of apprentices and staff like them a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. But we need to start working on that today, otherwise we'll find out that we don't have that workforce of tomorrow when we need," Lewus said.

A Holly Springs family is calling on their fellow North Carolinians to help save their daughter’s life.

Charlotte Akers was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) when she was only a week old. The rare genetic condition prevents the body from building its own immune system.

Now at five months old, her parents shared she is given between 5-7 different medications a day to protect against different germs.

“Most new parents when they have kids, they have family members come and help and they have friends – we weren’t allowed to have any of that,” shared Charlotte’s mother Lindsay. “Anyone who came and visit had to either go through a quarantine or had to gown, glove and mask.”

Both parents now work remotely and rarely leave their home. Lindsay described they must live “like COVID, but we’re the only ones participating.”

Even the family’s 11-year-old son wears PPE inside the home and immediately showers and disinfects his backpack after returning from school every day.

“At 7 days old, to find out that the disease that my daughter was diagnosed with does not have a life expectancy past two, and to try to go through all of the stages of grief of ‘Am I going to lose my child?’” shared Lindsay.

The genetic testing that caught Charlotte’s condition only became a requirement in North Carolina in 2018. The state was one of the last in the country to implement the screenings.

“What’s sad about it is the fact that other parents had to lose their kids for the laws to come into place,” shared Charlotte’s father Alex. “It’s like, ‘Thank you, but we’re sorry at the same point because you had to lose your kid so that we may not.”

The family has joined the National Marrow Donor Program, formerly known as Be the Match.

A bone marrow transplant would be a complete cure for the little girl.

“She would be able to go on and live a normal, healthy life,” expressed Lindsay. “She will be able to go on and go to preschool and go to places like the park and play with other kids.”

A donor can join by texting ‘CharlotteRey’ to 61474 to receive a free cheek swab via mail. You can also register online.

Younger cells have been shown to lead to better long-term survival for recipients and donors must be between 18-40 years old. Most donors can return to work or school within a few days, according to the registry.

The family shared there is only one known donor registered through NBMR that could be a 9/10 match for Charlotte who lives overseas.

Charlotte is unable to receive the transplant until she turns one and the family is hoping a perfect 10/10 match will join the registry before then.

Alex described the effort as two-fold.

“There’s a selfish goal that I want to see my daughter grow up,” he said. “Then there’s the goal that you hope it helps other people because there’s no guarantee with any of it that if anyone signs up, it’s for you.”

The family shared they’re remaining hopeful their cure will come and are working to get as many people enrolled in the registry as they can.

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